Despite actors claiming that telenovela ,Gqeberha The Empire, is crumbling and that their contracts have not been renewed, Mzansi Magic has come out to refute the claims that the telenovela is coming to an end. One actor insists: "The show is done! We have not received renewal contracts. We are leaving. They can say what they want but the show is finished and not coming back for season two." After ZiMoja reported on the crumbing Gqeberha The Empire, the channel released a statement denying that the show had been canned.

NOT GOING ANYWHERE

The channel says that they can confirm that Gqeberha: The Empire is scheduled to remain on-air "for the foreseeable future. Plans are in progress for the next season, further detail will be communicated in due course." They go on to say that they have just been made aware of the allegations of mistreatment of the cast and take such allegations seriously and they will be reaching out to the production house to verify. "Gqeberha: The Empire has been welcomed by our audiences as a great avenue to connect with the beautiful region of the Eastern Cape and we are proud of what this project has achieved in this province," the statement concludes.

ACTORS COMPLAINTS

Set in the windy city of Gqeberha, the show follows themes of dynasty, family, love, betrayal, polygamy and jealousy. ZiMoja reported that community members were up in arms about the production. Earlier this week, community leader Luthando Sesimane said, "The show does not represent us. The language used on the show is not authentically ours. Secondly, very few people from Gqeberha have been employed as either actors or service providers on the show. When Arts and Culture funded the project, they stated that it would uplift the community of Gqeberha. The stylists, make-up artists, crew, and the majority of the cast are not from Gqeberha. So, how is it empowering the community?" Actors known to Zimoja but did want their names revealed informed ZiMoja of alleged ill-treatment and "terrible pay" that they receive from the highly acclaimed and award-winning production company. One actor, told ZiMoja that she was living in dire conditions when she first arrived in Gqeberha. "They put us up in a dump basically. The place was not liveable, especially for an established actor," she said. When questioned earlier this year about whether actors had been provided accommodation while based in Gqeberha, Tshedza Pictures Management said, "All actors who indicated to production that they didn't have accommodation in Gqeberha have been provided accommodation."